Milano, 16 febbraio 2021
3° Uae Tour ; Elenco provvisorio dei partenti
UAE TOUR: PROVISIONAL RIDERS LIST ANNOUNCED IN FULL
From the 21st to 27th February, the third edition of the UAE Tour will play host to some of the greatest riders in the world. Download the provisional entry list in full below. Breitling, the official timekeeper for the race’s third edition, will provide the winner of each of the UAE Tour’s seven stages, and the overall GC victor, with the new Breitling Endurance Pro – read on for more details.
Adam Yates solos to victory on Jebel Hafeet at the 2020 UAE Tour
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2021 UAE Tour – Provisional Entry List
Photo Gallery – Riders Images
United Arab Emirates, 16 February 2021 – The UAE Tour race organisers, Abu Dhabi Sports Council, are pleased to today unveil the race’s provisional entry list in full. The list – available to download below – features some of the greatest riders in the sport of cycling, with strong battles expected for the leader’s Red Jersey, sprinter’s Green Jersey and individual stage victories.
The GC contenders
As previously announced, Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) will again go head-to-head with 2020 UAE Tour-winner Adam Yates (INEOS Grenadiers) at this year’s race. Four-time Tour de France-winner Chris Froome (Israel Start-Up Nation) will also be in attendance and will be looking to put in a strong performance as he continues his spirited comeback from injury. Joining him in the GC battle will be a host of experienced team leaders including multiple Grand Tour-winner Vincenzo Nibali (Trek Segafredo), Giro d’Italia and Tour de France podium-finisher Rigoberto Uran (EF Education – Nippo) and former World Champion and Vuelta a España-winner Alejandro Valverde (Movistar Team).
Tadej Pogačar wins Stage 5 of the 2020 UAE Tour
There’ll be plenty of other riders to watch in the General Classification as exciting young prospect Sepp Kuss (Jumbo-Visma) will be making his first appearance at the UAE Tour alongside João Almeida (Deceuninck – Quick-Step), fourth-place finisher at the 2020 Giro d’Italia. Rafal Majka (UAE Team Emirates) will join them for his second UAE Tour, and will no doubt aim to improve on his fifth place overall at last year’s edition. The 2020 UAE Tour’s third-place finisher meanwhile, Alexey Lutsenko (Astana – Premier Tech) will also be in the fight for the leader’s Red Jersey as he returns for the race’s third edition.
Alejandro Valverde wins in Jebel Hafeet on Stage 3 of the 2019 UAE Tour
The list of GC-hopefuls doesn’t end there however. Wout Poels (Bahrain Victorious) will ride the UAE Tour after ending his 2020 season with a solid 6th place finish at the Vuelta a España. Teammate Damiano Caruso (Bahrain Victorious) – 10th place finisher at the 2020 Tour de France – will race alongside him. Bora – Hansgrohe, meanwhile, will also be riding with two potential GC contenders at the race – Patrick Konrad (8th place at the 2020 Giro d’Italia) and Emmanuel Buchmann (4th place at the 2019 Tour de France). Fausto Masnada (Deceuninck – Quick-Step), 9th place at last season’s Giro d’Italia, will also be in contention for a top 5 finish.
The Green Jersey Contenders
The UAE Tour’s well-earned reputation as a sprinter’s ‘world championship’ has once again attracted some of the fastest finishers in the sport of cycling for the race’s third edition. Caleb Ewan (Lotto Soudal) will ride the race for the third year in a row after taking the Green Jersey in 2020’s edition and two wins from two on the iconic Hatta Dam uphill finish. Racing alongside him at the first WorldTour event of the season will be UAE Tour stage victor and Tour de France Green Jersey winner Sam Bennett (Deceuninck – Quick-Step), also riding his third edition. Also confirmed is last year’s opening stage winner Pascal Ackermann (Bora – Hansgrohe), who will look to repeat his success as he returns for his second UAE Tour this February, and Colombian sprinter Fernando Gaviria (UAE Team Emirates), a stage winner in the race’s first edition.
The provisional entry list also includes 5-time Giro d’Italia stage-winner and 2019 UAE Tour Green Jersey-winner Elia Viviani (Cofidis) as well as Giacomo Nizzolo (Team Qhubeka Assos) – twice winner of the Giro d’Italia’s Maglia Ciclamino. Strong finisher Luka Mezgec (Team Bikeexchange) and 22-time Grand Tour stage-winner Andre Greipel (Israel Start-Up Nation) will also start. The German powerhouse will be riding his first UAE Tour.
Caleb Ewan in the Green Jersey at the 2020 UAE Tour
Ones to watch
Away from the fight for the Red and Green Jerseys, time trial ace Filippo Ganna (INEOS Grenadiers) makes his UAE Tour debut this February, following a sensational 2020 season in which he took four stage victories at the Giro d’Italia and an ITT World Champion’s Rainbow Jersey. The Italian rider will no doubt target Stage 2’s 13km ITT. Swiss rider Marc Hirschi (UAE Team Emirates) will also ride the race for the first time. The 2020 Tour de France stage winner and Road World Championship Bronze medalist at Imola will be keen to impress after signing for UAE Team Emirates at the start of the new year. Hirschi will be one to watch on some of the tour’s punchier stages.
Last, but certainly not least, Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Fenix) will ride his first UAE Tour. He’ll be starting the race on strong form, having recently taken his fourth Cyclo-cross World Championship title at Ostend, Belgium.
Breitling: the Official Timekeeper of the UAE Tour
Luxury Swiss watchmaker Breitling will be the official timekeeper for the race’s third edition. Founded in 1884, Breitling has established a global reputation for high-precision timepieces with an uncompromising commitment to design excellence. Its long history of providing precision timekeeping in the world of cycling has bore witness to partnerships with prestigious cycle races including the Giro d’Italia, Tour de France and now, the one and only WorldTour race in the Middle East – the UAE Tour.
In addition to its official timekeeping duties, Breitling will provide the winner of each of the tour’s seven stages, and the overall General Classification victor, with the new Breitling Endurance Pro. The Endurance Pro combines an ultra-lightweight 44 millimeter Breitlight® case and a thermocompensated SuperQuartzTM movement ten times more accurate than conventional quartz to offer optimal comfort, matchless precision, and functionality that will appeal to both committed athletes and more casual sports enthusiasts alike.
Breitling Endurance Pro Collection
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About Abu Dhabi Sports Council
Abu Dhabi Sports Council (ADSC) was established in 2006 by His Highness Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces.
ADSC is aligned to the emirate’s leadership vision to develop sport and youth activities. The Council promotes an effective, emirate-wide sports calendar that stimulates the desire to participate in quality sports among all Abu Dhabi residents and helps the talented and motivated reach their sporting potential.
The Council also hosts and supports the staging of international world-class sporting events. These include: the annual Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship presented by EGA; the Formula 1TM Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix; the ITU World Triathlon Series; both the Abu Dhabi and Gary Player Invitationals; the Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies Open on the Ladies European Tour, the Red Bull Air Race; the Mubadala World Tennis Championship; the 2017 and 2018 FIFA Club World Cups; the 2019 AFC Asian Cup UAE, the UCI WorldTour event, and the UAE Tour.
We at ADSC firmly believe that sporting events deliver a host of benefits for the emirate and its residents. These span improved health and wellness, the building of community spirit, the discovering of local talent and the delivery of international exposure of the emirate as a world-class sporting events hub.
Whether it is land, sea or air, we have sport covered.
For more media information please contact: Ahmed Wahab Al Juboori at Abu Dhabi Sports Council: awahab@adsc.abudhabi.ae
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